Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles 'Nother Barrel Length Question

Help Please! I'm so new to AR's I can't even be called a "newbie;" I'm a "Preemie!" So, I'm going to get an AR-platform rifle (5.56 NATO, .223 Rem) and that's a fact. I've been advised not to get a barrel less than 22" long because the muzzle blast noise will be unbearable. Frankly I was planning on a 20" tube but would consider a 16" tube.

All you experienced AR shooters out there please give me your advice about this noise issue--from your personal experience please, and not from "my-best-friend's-wife's-nephew's-high-school-buddy told her."

Thanks in advance for your help with this!!

Jayhawk Dan (yeah, the f'ball team isn't so good this year)

Whomever told you the noise would be unbearable on less than a 22" bbl is whacked.

16's can get a little loud. 18" are the perfect compromise IMO.

I have an 18, 17 and 2 16"s, very bearable. Have a pard with 2 24" barrels and I wouldn't dream of going longer than 20 but 18 does it all.

(16" is my favorite though)

I always shoot with ear protection so I can't tell the difference between a 16" carbine and 20" NM.

Results vary greatly with what's on the end of the barrel.

It's quite possible to make the rest of the line mad at you with most any length barrel.

With adequate hearing protection shooting solo I'd worry about lots of other things before I worried about noise.

The answer of course is to get a can - and mount it on a Short Barreled Rifle - then worry about whether direct impingement is the way to go with a SBR and a can.

What this guy said. Just DON'T put a muzzle brake (noise increaser), on it.

I like a 20" barrel. I shoot with hearing protection but don't hunt with it. The trick is finding a 20" that's not heavy.

Much depends on what you plan to use it for. All of them are loud, but keep in mind the shorter the barrel the more velocity you loose. A 16" will still shoot very flat out to 300 yards, possibly better. I've not fooled around with one past that range.

Seems to me I heard a story (source unknown) about a guy in Iraq picking off enemy troops (?) at 600 yards with an M-4 on a fairly regular basis.

I like the 20's as well but sure are not common in LW barrels.

I find the 16-inch barrels to be loud, even with double-plugs in my ears. (NB: ear damage can happen from more than ear access - it can be bone conduction, and I believe nose and eye also channel the blast.) Still, I just bought a 16-inch barrel LMT - these are the most common and most salable if you find you don't like it. Also, you can change the barrel length later pretty cheaply, so the shorter barrel doesn't have to be a mistake.